21 Responses

I really enjoy Lovecraft’s short stories. I think the “indescribabilty” is what makes his horror stories all the more, well, horrifying. As for the movies, not so much. They definitely lose something essential in the translation from writing to film.

Also: Are you sure you’re not thinking of the “Incredibly Strange Film Show”? That USA late-night series first is what first exposed me to the concept of B-movies as something to possibly be taken seriously.

Fair enough about the cancer, though everything I know about Lovecraft makes mustering much sympathy for him, even under those circumstances, difficult.

I didn’t choose the term smeghead at random. Lovecraft’s bio makes him sound like a living, breathing Arnold Rimmer, with the added sins of being a profoundly xenophobic racist.

As for the term smeghead, I’ve always had the suspicion, though it’s nothing but a personal theory, that it was intended to be a completely made up curse word like “frak”. And only later did the creators of Red Dwarf discover that it was a shortened form of the word “smegma”.

A little disappointed that you guys didn’t get into either the neat opening animation or the music (even though it rips off Psycho). Still, I love love love this movie and it was great hearing you two talk about it.

Since Hollywood said it first, I’m glad no one who listens to this podcast also watches Grey’s Anatomy. If you do watch Grey’s Anatomy , turn it off and watch the new Avengers cartoon, you should be fine soon.

You said you’d be working your up from least Lovecraftian to most. For my money, the best Lovecraft adaptation is “The Call of Cthulhu” done by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/ It’s a recent production, but done as a 1920’s silent film, all German Expressionist angles and stop-motion animation. You can get it from Netflix and Amazon.

Kevin, yeah, that’s the plan. We’re scheduled to record about that one later this week. The next episode in the theme month, though, is going to be “Dagon”, which I think is one of Gordon’s more Lovecraftian Lovecraft adaptations. I’m still not sure what we’re going to cover as the fourth entry. A lot of Lovecraft adaptations kinda suck or are not readily available for viewing…

We address Lovecraft’s racism and xenophobia in the “Dagon” episode. I think comparing him to Arnold Rimmer is a tad unfair, though, because unlike the character of Rimmer whose inflated ego vastly outstrips his meager talents, Lovecraft was a genuinely intelligent man, not just a narcissist with delusions of grandeur.

“In the Mouth of Madness” is one of the titles I’ve seriously been considering, because I like John Carpenter and want to talk about that film at some point. But it’s not a straight-up Lovecraft adaptation, so I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to include it in the theme month. I’m leaning toward doing that, though, because it would also allow us to discuss Lovecraft’s influence on other entertainers.

Sweet I was waiting for the Lovecraft podcasts. Good one to start with. On a side note, what’s up with Paul being very negative towards religion these last few podcasts? All these backhanded comments about Christianity and what not seem come out of nowhere and with a hint of anger. We get it now you don’t like religion, enough with insults or you run the risk of alienating a large part of your listeners. Anyways great show, keep it up.

I assume you’re referring to the part where I said that August Derleth “Christianized” the mythos. By that, I mean he set up pre-established entities as specifically good or specifically evil and then set them in conflict against one another with the fate of mankind hanging somewhere in the balance. He also described Elder Gods and Great Old Ones in terms of Aristotelian elemental properties. That was never Lovecraft’s intent, and I do feel that mythos suffered as a result.

It’s perfectly relevant to the subject matter at hand and will show up again in conversation when we talk specifically about what makes the Cthulhu mythos unique.

Please don’t try to tell me what I can and can’t say on my own podcast. That’s my decision to make. The last few podcasts have been about space walnuts, green slime, ninja turtles, and kung fu. I don’t think I’ve been particularly insulting to any religion; that’s not the point of this podcast. This podcast is about movies. If I want to slam theology, I’ll do it in a different venue.

EDIT: Oh, if this is referring to the stinger involving the Insane Klown Posse, that’s just an expression of my personal taste. I liked their songs better when they were darkly humorous and about murdering people. Their positive, mystical stuff bores me. “@#$%ing magnets. How do they work?”

Well now you have to do Mouth of Madness, just to see if you can keep you Carpenter podcast reader comment drought streak going.
I’d like to hear thoughts on it, as I’ve seen that film a few times now, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.